Russia - Government
Based on the etymolgy of Russia, it was Russian lands were referred to as Muscovy until PETER I declared the Empire of All Russias in 1721; the new name aimed at identifying the new Russia with European political tradition; "Rus" was the Old Finnish name given to Varangians (eastern Vikings) who entered the area in the 9th century. The Government system in this country is the semi-presidential federation type and the different Administrative divisions includes: 46 provinces (oblasti, singular - oblast), 21 republics (respubliki, singular - respublika), 4 autonomous districts (avtonomnyye okrugi, singular - avtonomnyy okrug), 9 federal subjects (kraya, singular - kray), 2 federal cities (goroda, singular - gorod), and 1 autonomous province (avtonomnaya oblast')
oblasts: Amur (Blagoveshchensk), Arkhangelsk, Astrakhan, Belgorod, Bryansk, Chelyabinsk, Irkutsk, Ivanovo, Kaliningrad, Kaluga, Kemerovo, Kirov, Kostroma, Kurgan, Kursk, Leningrad (Gatchina), Lipetsk, Magadan, Moscow, Murmansk, Nizhniy Novgorod, Novgorod, Novosibirsk, Omsk, Orenburg, Orel, Penza, Pskov, Rostov, Ryazan, Sakhalin (Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk), Samara, Saratov, Smolensk, Sverdlovsk (Yekaterinburg), Tambov, Tomsk, Tula, Tver, Tyumen, Ulyanovsk, Vladimir, Volgograd, Vologda, Voronezh, Yaroslavl
republics: Adygeya (Maykop), Altay (Gorno-Altaysk), Bashkortostan (Ufa), Buryatiya (Ulan-Ude), Chechnya (Groznyy), Chuvashiya (Cheboksary), Dagestan (Makhachkala), Ingushetiya (Magas), Kabardino-Balkariya (Nal'chik), Kalmykiya (Elista), Karachayevo-Cherkesiya (Cherkessk), Kareliya (Petrozavodsk), Khakasiya (Abakan), Komi (Syktyvkar), Mariy-El (Yoshkar-Ola), Mordoviya (Saransk), North Ossetia (Vladikavkaz), Sakha [Yakutiya] (Yakutsk), Tatarstan (Kazan), Tyva (Kyzyl), Udmurtiya (Izhevsk)
autonomous districts: Chukotka (Anadyr'), Khanty-Mansi-Yugra (Khanty-Mansiysk), Nenets (Nar'yan-Mar), Yamalo-Nenets (Salekhard)
federal subjects: Altay (Barnaul), Kamchatka (Petropavlovsk-Kamchatskiy), Khabarovsk, Krasnodar, Krasnoyarsk, Perm, Primorskiy [Maritime] (Vladivostok), Stavropol, Zabaykalsk [Transbaikal] (Chita)
federal cities: Moscow [Moskva], Saint Petersburg [Sankt-Peterburg]
autonomous province: Yevreyskaya [Jewish] (Birobidzhan)
oblasts: Amur (Blagoveshchensk), Arkhangelsk, Astrakhan, Belgorod, Bryansk, Chelyabinsk, Irkutsk, Ivanovo, Kaliningrad, Kaluga, Kemerovo, Kirov, Kostroma, Kurgan, Kursk, Leningrad (Gatchina), Lipetsk, Magadan, Moscow, Murmansk, Nizhniy Novgorod, Novgorod, Novosibirsk, Omsk, Orenburg, Orel, Penza, Pskov, Rostov, Ryazan, Sakhalin (Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk), Samara, Saratov, Smolensk, Sverdlovsk (Yekaterinburg), Tambov, Tomsk, Tula, Tver, Tyumen, Ulyanovsk, Vladimir, Volgograd, Vologda, Voronezh, Yaroslavl
republics: Adygeya (Maykop), Altay (Gorno-Altaysk), Bashkortostan (Ufa), Buryatiya (Ulan-Ude), Chechnya (Groznyy), Chuvashiya (Cheboksary), Dagestan (Makhachkala), Ingushetiya (Magas), Kabardino-Balkariya (Nal'chik), Kalmykiya (Elista), Karachayevo-Cherkesiya (Cherkessk), Kareliya (Petrozavodsk), Khakasiya (Abakan), Komi (Syktyvkar), Mariy-El (Yoshkar-Ola), Mordoviya (Saransk), North Ossetia (Vladikavkaz), Sakha [Yakutiya] (Yakutsk), Tatarstan (Kazan), Tyva (Kyzyl), Udmurtiya (Izhevsk)
autonomous districts: Chukotka (Anadyr'), Khanty-Mansi-Yugra (Khanty-Mansiysk), Nenets (Nar'yan-Mar), Yamalo-Nenets (Salekhard)
federal subjects: Altay (Barnaul), Kamchatka (Petropavlovsk-Kamchatskiy), Khabarovsk, Krasnodar, Krasnoyarsk, Perm, Primorskiy [Maritime] (Vladivostok), Stavropol, Zabaykalsk [Transbaikal] (Chita)
federal cities: Moscow [Moskva], Saint Petersburg [Sankt-Peterburg]
autonomous province: Yevreyskaya [Jewish] (Birobidzhan)
National symbols
Bear, double-headed eagle.
The flag
The National flag of Russia has .
Info
The National Anthem
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| Lyric/music |
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More about the government of Russia
| Date of Independence | 25 December 1991 (from the Soviet Union; Russian SFSR renamed Russian Federation); notable earlier dates: 1157 (Principality of Vladimir-Suzdal created); 16 January 1547 (Tsardom of Muscovy established); 22 October 1721 (Russian Empire proclaimed); 30 December 1922 (Soviet Union established) |
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| National holiday | Russia Day, 12 June (1990) |
| Legal system | civil law system; judicial review of legislative acts |
| International law organization participation | has not submitted an ICJ jurisdiction declaration; non-party state to the ICCt |
| Constitution | |
| History | Several previous (during Russian Empire and Soviet era); latest drafted 12 July 1993, adopted by referendum 12 December 1993, effective 25 December 1993 |
| Amendment process | Proposed by the president of the Russian Federation, by either house of the Federal Assembly, by the government of the Russian Federation, or by legislative (representative) bodies of the Federation's constituent entities; proposals to amend the government’s constitutional system, human and civil rights and freedoms, and procedures for amending or drafting a new constitution require formation of a Constitutional Assembly; passage of such amendments requires two-thirds majority vote of its total membership; passage in a referendum requires participation of an absolute majority of eligible voters and an absolute majority of valid votes; approval of proposed amendments to the government structure, authorities, and procedures requires approval by the legislative bodies of at least two thirds of the Russian Federation's constituent entities |
| Citizenship | |
| Citizenship by birth | no |
| Citizenship by descent only | at least one parent must be a citizen of Russia |
| Dual citizenship recognized | yes |
| Residency requirement for naturalization | 3-5 years |
| Executive Branch | |
| Chief of state | President Vladimir Vladimirovich PUTIN (since 7 May 2012) |
| Head of government | Premier Mikhail Vladimirovich MISHUSTIN (since 16 January 2020) |
| Cabinet | the government is composed of the premier, his deputies, and ministers, all appointed by the president; the premier is also confirmed by the Duma |
| Election/appointment process | president directly elected by absolute-majority popular vote in 2 rounds, if needed, for a 6-year term (eligible for a second consecutive term) |
| Most recent election date | 15-17 March 2024 |
| Election results | 2024: Vladimir PUTIN reelected president; percent of vote - Vladimir PUTIN (independent) 88.5%, Nikolay KHARITONOV (Communist Party) 4.4%, Vladislav DAVANKOV (New People party) 3.9%, Leonid SLUTSKY (Liberal Democrats) 3.2% 2018: Vladimir PUTIN reelected president; percent of vote - Vladimir PUTIN (independent) 77.5%, Pavel GRUDININ (CPRF) 11.9%, Vladimir ZHIRINOVSKIY (LDPR) 5.7%, other 4.9%; Mikhail MISHUSTIN (independent) approved as premier by Duma; vote - 383 to 0 |
| Expected date of next election | 2030 |
| Legislative branch | |
| Legislature name | Federal Assembly (Federalnoye Sobraniye) |
| Legislative structure | Bicameral |
| Judicial branch | |
| Highest court(s) | Supreme Court of the Russian Federation (consists of 170 members organized into the Judicial Panel for Civil Affairs, the Judicial Panel for Criminal Affairs, and the Military Panel); Constitutional Court (consists of 11 members, including the chairperson and deputy) |
| Judge selection and term of office | All members of Russia's 3 highest courts nominated by the president and appointed by the Federation Council (the upper house of the legislature); members of all 3 courts appointed for life |
| Subordinate courts | Regional (kray) and provincial (oblast) courts; Moscow and St. Petersburg city courts; autonomous province and district courts (the 21 Russian republics have court systems specified by their own constitutions) |
| Diplomatic representation in the US | |
| Chief of mission | Ambassador Alexander Nikitich DARCHIEV (since 11 June 2025) |
| Chancery | 2650 Wisconsin Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20007 |
| Telephone | [1] (202) 298-5700 |
| FAX | [1] (202) 298-5735 |
| Email address and website | rusembusa@mid.ru https://washington.mid.ru/en/ |
| Consulate(s) general | Houston, New York |
| Diplomatic representation from the US | |
| Chief of mission | Ambassador (vacant); Chargé d’Affaires J. Douglas DYKHOUSE (since June 2025) |
| Embassy | 55,75566° N, 37,58028° E |
| Mailing address | 5430 Moscow Place, Washington DC 20521-5430 |
| Telephone | [7] (495) 728-5000 |
| FAX | [7] (495) 728-5090 |
| Email address and website | MoscowACS@state.gov https://ru.usembassy.gov/ |
| Consulate(s) general | Vladivostok (suspended status), Yekaterinburg (suspended status) |
| National heritage | |
| Total World Heritage Sites | 33 (22 cultural, 11 natural) |
| Selected World Heritage Site locales | Historic Centre of Saint Petersburg and Related Groups of Monuments (c); Kizhi Pogost (c); Kremlin and Red Square, Moscow (c); Historic Monuments of Novgorod and Surroundings (c); White Monuments of Vladimir and Suzdal (c); Architectural Ensemble of the Trinity Sergius Lavra in Sergiev Posad (c); Church of the Ascension, Kolomenskoye (c); Lake Baikal (n); Volcanoes of Kamchatka (n); Ensemble of the Ferapontov Monastery (c); Historic and Architectural Complex of the Kazan Kremlin (c); Citadel, Ancient City and Fortress Buildings of Derbent (c); Uvs Nuur Basin (n); Ensemble of the Novodevichy Convent (c); Natural System of Wrangel Island Reserve (n); Historical Centre of the City of Yaroslavl (c); Lena Pillars Nature Park (n); Bolgar Historical and Archaeological Complex (c); Assumption Cathedral and Monastery of the town-island of Sviyazhsk (c); Churches of the Pskov School of Architecture (c); Petroglyphs of Lake Onega and the White Sea (c); Rock Paintings of Shulgan-Tash Cave (c) |
Key Political parties and their leaders in Russia
Info
International organization participation
All Important Facts about Russia
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